Chapter 8 - The Man Who Died Twice
Raymond agreed to meet Margaret.
Not at her office.
At St. Matthew’s Church, where Nicole and Raymond had been baptized.
Raymond chose the confessional corridor because there were no security cameras.
Margaret found that both paranoid and appropriate.
“You need counsel,” she told him.
“I have you.”
“No. I represent the trust. Your interests may conflict with Nicole’s.”
Raymond glanced at his sister.
Nicole noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No more nothing.”
Raymond rubbed his face.
“Fine. I contacted Daniel Shaw.”
Margaret approved.
A former federal prosecutor turned defense attorney.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Nicole stared.
“You hired a criminal-defense lawyer before telling me what happened.”
“I survived a fire in which another man died and then allowed authorities to believe I was that man.”
Margaret’s voice sharpened.
“Allowed?”
Raymond looked at the floor.
Nicole felt it immediately.
There was more.
“How long did you know?”
Raymond did not answer.
“Raymond.”
“By Wednesday morning.”
Nicole stepped back.
The funeral had been Thursday.
“You knew before I identified him?”
“I knew it probably wasn’t me.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not trying to be funny.”
“Who is he?”
“I’m not certain.”
“Stop doing this.”
Raymond’s face tightened.
“My investigator’s name was Elias Vance.”
Nicole waited.
“He met me at Warehouse Fourteen.”
“Is Elias in the casket?”
“I think so.”
Margaret removed her glasses.
“Start at the beginning.”
Raymond leaned against the stone wall.
“Three months ago I found irregular transfers. Gregory said they were temporary liquidity movements. The amounts kept growing.”
“So you hired Elias,” Nicole said.
“Yes.”
“Who was he?”
“Former state financial-crimes investigator. Private consultant after retirement.”
“Did Gregory know?”
“He shouldn’t have.”
“What happened Tuesday?”
Raymond hesitated.
“Elias called and said he had proof linking Northstar to someone inside Archer.”
“Someone?”
“He wouldn’t tell me on the phone.”
Nicole frowned.
“So you met at the warehouse.”
“Yes.”
“Why there?”
“Elias chose it.”
Raymond’s voice became quieter.
“When I arrived, the electricity was off. Elias was inside. He had a drive containing documents. Before he could give it to me, someone entered through the loading bay.”
“Who?”
“I never saw his face.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because the lights were out.”
“What happened?”
“He attacked Elias first. I tried to help. Something caught fire near the office partition. Smoke spread fast.”
Raymond stopped.
Nicole could see the memory taking hold.
“Elias pushed me toward the loading door. It was chained.”
Margaret frowned.
“From outside?”
“Yes.”
“How did you escape?”
“There was a maintenance hatch beneath the loading platform. Elias broke the latch.”
“And Elias?”
“He went back for the drive.”
Nicole closed her eyes.
“He died for a flash drive?”
“He went back because it contained evidence.”
“Same thing.”
Raymond’s voice broke slightly.
“I tried to follow him. The ceiling came down.”
Silence.
“Then what?” Margaret asked.
“I crawled out through the hatch. I walked almost two miles before a truck driver gave me a ride.”
“To Nicole?” Margaret asked.
“No. To a motel.”
“Why not a hospital?”
“Because my phone had disappeared.”
Nicole looked up.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“My wallet was gone too. My watch.”
“You think the attacker took them.”
“Yes.”
Raymond swallowed.
“Wednesday morning I saw a news report identifying the body as me.”
Nicole understood.
“Your belongings were found on Elias.”
“I assume so.”
Margaret looked grim.
“And you chose not to correct it.”
Raymond nodded.
“For twenty-four hours.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever tried to kill me believed it worked.”
“And that gave you time.”
“Yes.”
“To do what?”
“Find the evidence Elias died retrieving.”
Nicole stared.
“You went back?”
“Not to the warehouse. Elias maintained an emergency copy.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“He said if anything happened to him, the backup would reach the right person.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Nicole laughed bitterly.
“A dead investigator, a secret backup, a fake death—do you hear yourself?”
“Yes.”
Margaret interrupted.
“Did you authorize any insurance claim?”
“No.”
“Access any estate funds after your reported death?”
“No.”
“Ask Nicole to make false statements?”
Raymond looked at his sister.
Nicole answered for him.
“He asked me not to tell Gregory.”
Margaret exhaled.
“You both need separate attorneys.”
Nicole folded her arms.
“Why did you give Emma the cufflink?”
Raymond looked surprised.
“She showed me.”
His expression softened.
“She was awake?”
“Yes.”
“I thought she might be.”
“Then why give her evidence?”
“Because she saw me and you were going to tell her she didn’t.”
Nicole flinched.
Raymond continued.
“She’s six, Nicole. Adults can make children doubt their own memories because it’s convenient.”
“You put her in danger.”
“I gave her a cufflink.”
“You made her part of your secret.”
Raymond looked ashamed.
“That was wrong.”
For once, no defense.
No explanation.
Just wrong.
A church bell sounded overhead.
Margaret checked her watch.
“The second examination begins in an hour.”
Raymond turned toward the exit.
Margaret stopped him.
“If the body is Elias Vance, you will tell his family yourself.”
Raymond looked at her.
“What family?”
“Everyone has someone.”
Raymond’s face changed.
For the first time, Nicole saw something deeper than fear.
May you like
He had spent two days thinking about his own survival.
He had never asked who might be waiting for Elias to come home.
